The Summum Pyramid is a sanctuary and temple used by the organization of Summum

Summum

Summum is a religion and philosophy that began in 1975 as a result of Claude "Corky" Nowell's claimed encounter with beings he described as "Summa Individuals"...

 for instruction in the Summum philosophy. It is located in Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

, and was built during 1977 to 1979. The pyramid

Pyramid

A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...

 is 40 feet long at the base, 26 feet high, and is oriented towards True North

True north

True north is the direction along the earth's surface towards the geographic North Pole.True geodetic north usually differs from magnetic north , and from grid north...

 of the Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

. The structure also incorporates the Divine Proportion in its design.

The pyramid was licensed as a winery in 1980 so that Summum could produce what it calls "Nectar Publications," drinks containing alcohol that are used in practicing the Summum Transcending Meditation

Meditation

Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....

s. The pyramid is Utah's first federally bonded winery.

The pyramid is also used to conduct the rites of Transference. Summum provides the service of Modern Mummification

Mummy

A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...

, and as part of the service, rites of Transference are performed to help guide the spirit or essence of the deceased to its next destination in existence.